|
1
|
White TG, Oliver MT, Mabey P, Kühn-Kauffeldt M, Bott AFA, Döhl LNK, Bell AR, Bingham R, Clarke R, Foster J, Giacinti G, Graham P, Heathcote R, Koenig M, Kuramitsu Y, Lamb DQ, Meinecke J, Michel T, Miniati F, Notley M, Reville B, Ryu D, Sarkar S, Sakawa Y, Selwood MP, Squire J, Scott RHH, Tzeferacos P, Woolsey N, Schekochihin AA, Gregori G. Supersonic plasma turbulence in the laboratory. Nat Commun 2019; 10:1758. [PMID: 30988285 PMCID: PMC6465398 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09498-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2018] [Accepted: 03/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The properties of supersonic, compressible plasma turbulence determine the behavior of many terrestrial and astrophysical systems. In the interstellar medium and molecular clouds, compressible turbulence plays a vital role in star formation and the evolution of our galaxy. Observations of the density and velocity power spectra in the Orion B and Perseus molecular clouds show large deviations from those predicted for incompressible turbulence. Hydrodynamic simulations attribute this to the high Mach number in the interstellar medium (ISM), although the exact details of this dependence are not well understood. Here we investigate experimentally the statistical behavior of boundary-free supersonic turbulence created by the collision of two laser-driven high-velocity turbulent plasma jets. The Mach number dependence of the slopes of the density and velocity power spectra agree with astrophysical observations, and supports the notion that the turbulence transitions from being Kolmogorov-like at low Mach number to being more Burgers-like at higher Mach numbers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- T G White
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK.
- Department of Physics, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, 89557, USA.
| | - M T Oliver
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
- Department of Physics, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, 89557, USA
| | - P Mabey
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
- LULI-CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, CEA: Université Paris-Saclay; UPMC Univ Paris 06: Sorbonne Universitiés, F-91128, Palaiseau cedex, France
| | | | - A F A Bott
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - L N K Döhl
- York Plasma Institute, Department of Physics, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - A R Bell
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - R Bingham
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
- Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0NG, UK
| | - R Clarke
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - J Foster
- AWE, Aldermaston, Reading, West Berkshire, RG7 4PR, UK
| | - G Giacinti
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Postfach 103980, 69029, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - P Graham
- AWE, Aldermaston, Reading, West Berkshire, RG7 4PR, UK
| | - R Heathcote
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - M Koenig
- LULI-CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, CEA: Université Paris-Saclay; UPMC Univ Paris 06: Sorbonne Universitiés, F-91128, Palaiseau cedex, France
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 564-0871, Japan
| | - Y Kuramitsu
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 564-0871, Japan
| | - D Q Lamb
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640S. Ellis Ave, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - J Meinecke
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - Th Michel
- LULI-CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, CEA: Université Paris-Saclay; UPMC Univ Paris 06: Sorbonne Universitiés, F-91128, Palaiseau cedex, France
| | - F Miniati
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - M Notley
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - B Reville
- School of Mathematics and Physics, Queens University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, UK
| | - D Ryu
- Department of Physics, School of Natural Sciences, UNIST, Ulsan, 44919, Korea
| | - S Sarkar
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - Y Sakawa
- Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - M P Selwood
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - J Squire
- Theoretical Astrophysics, 350-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
- Physics Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand
| | - R H H Scott
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, OX11 0QX, UK
| | - P Tzeferacos
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640S. Ellis Ave, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - N Woolsey
- York Plasma Institute, Department of Physics, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - A A Schekochihin
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
| | - G Gregori
- Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK.
| |
Collapse
|